TEXclusive

John Cornyn is still furious about Fast and Furious. The latest development that has angered the Republican senator from San Antonio is the apparent promotions handed out to three supervisors in the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives.

TEXclusive by Stewart Powell

“Until Attorney General (Eric) Holder and Justice Department officials come clean on all alleged gun-walking operations, including a detailed response to allegations of a Texas-based scheme, it is inconceivable to reward those who spearheaded this disastrous operation with cushy desks in Washington,” declared Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that exercises jurisdiction over the Justice Department.

The Los Angeles Times reported that three ATF officials involved in the controversial Arizona-based sting operation that featured U.S. guns being smuggled to Mexican drug cartels in hopes of building criminal cases had been promoted and transferred to Washington, D.C. The agents — William McMahon, ATF deputy director in the west, and Phoenix field officers William Newell and David Voth — had been criticized for their part in Operation Fast and Furious, the newspaper reported.

Cornyn wrote Holder last week to express “deep concerns” about an ATF program in Texas modeled after “Fast and Furious.” Cornyn demanded that Holder’s Justice Department “immediately brief” his office about “the scope and details of any past or present ATF ‘gun walking’ programs operated in the state of Texas.”

Cornyn spokesman Drew Brandewie said the senator has not yet received a response to his letter from the Justice Department.

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Texas Tips

Every morning, we offer Texas news you may not have heard and insights from the Washington bureau staff.

★ A NEW SAFETY CHIEF AT NASA: A safety specialist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston has won a promotion to serve as the chief of safety and mission assurance at space agency headquarters. NASA says Terrence Wilcutt will take over his new duties on Sept. 1. The retired Marine colonel and veteran astronaut has been working as director of safety and mission assurance at Johnson Space Center, home of mission control. More>>>

★ AFL-CIO CHALLENGES LOCAL GOP LAWMAKERS. Local chapters of the AFL-CIO are bird dogging members of Congress during the August recess to drive home what they see as the number one issue for many Americans – jobs. Harris County AFL-CIO President Richard Shaw reports that Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, may have been expecting a friendly crowd at a town hall meeting. But according to Shaw, Culberson was “greeted with community and labor folks holding signs asking him where the jobs are that the ‘job creators’ (the rich who received the tax breaks) were supposed to have created.” More>>>

★ POE FINDS DEBRIS — AND WE’RE NOT TALKING ECONOMY. The water level is so low that Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, found two cars and numerous pieces of debris along the shoreline of Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River. More>>>

Texas Watch

TxPotomac lets you know what stories to look out for today — and later this week.

On Deck: Today

★ The Brookings Institution will present a primer on the new congressional deficit-reduction “supercommittee” at 1:30 p.m. EDT in its Falk Auditorium.

★ Rick Perry campaigns in New Hampshire.

On Deck: This Week and Beyond

★ Thursday: The American Enterprise Institute will hold a discussion titled “An Emerging Democratic Majority?” at 12:30 p.m. EDT in the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2168. Speakers include Ruy Teixeira of the Center for American Progress, Michael Barone of the American Enterprise Institute and moderator Karlyn Bowman of the American Enterprise Institute.

★ Wednesday, Aug. 24. The House Oversight, Investigations and Management Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, will hold a field hearing titled “Preventing an Economic Shock Wave: Securing the Port of Houston From a Terrorist Attack.” It is scheduled for 10 a.m. CDT on the fourth floor of the Port of Houston Authority, 111 East Loop North.